'FanMail' pours in

TLC disc tops sales again; 'Bossalinie' No. 2

By ADAM SANDLER

TLC's "FanMail" was the bestselling album in the nation for the third consecutive week, according to sales data released Wednesday.

Nearly 203,000 copies of the Face/Arista Records disc went home with fans, representing a slide of just 24,000 copies during the period ended March 14.

The No. 2 spot was nabbed by rapper C-Murder, whose No Limit/Priority disc "Bossalinie" was snapped up by nearly 176,000 fans.

The new chart entry stopped the ascension of Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time," which was held to the No. 3 slot.

Spears' Jive Records disc went home with nearly 175,000 fans, a 4,000-copy drop from the previous chart. The disc has topped 1.5 million units in its ninth week of release aided by the widespread radio and musicvid-channel play of its title track.

'Slim' slides slot

Spears traded places with rapper Eminem, whose Aftermath/Interscope debut "The Slim Shady LP" slid a slot to No. 4. Less than 3,000 copies separated the two discs. Musicvids from Spears and Eminem are the industry's two most frequently played.

The sales luster is largely off Lauryn Hill's sweep of the Feb. 24 Grammy Awards as her Ruffhouse/Columbia Records disc "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" dropped three slots to No. 5 on nearly 155,000 copies.

The 46,000-unit drop from the previous week was the largest among the top 10.

Shania Twain, who nabbed a major sales boost on the previous chart thanks to her CBS-TV spec March 3, saw her sales retreat. Her Mercury Nashville disc "Come On Over" slipped a slot and posted sales of nearly 121,000 copies, a 33,000-unit fall.

Cher holders

Cher's Warner Bros. Records disc "Believe" held steady at No. 7 for the second week on sales of more than 103,000 copies; while the Dixie Chicks' Monument/Sony disc "Wide Open Spaces" similarly hovered at No. 8 with a tally 7,000 copies shy of Cher's.

Offspring's "Americana" remained at No. 9 for the second week on sales action of slightly more than 95,000 copies. The Columbia Records disc crossed the 2.5 million unit mark in its 17th week on the chart.

Everlast's "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" rose a rung to No. 10 on sales of nearly 78,000 copies. The Tommy Boy Records disc has topped 1.5 million units in its 24th week and continues to get sales mileage from its first single, "What It's Like," which has become a Top-40 radio staple. The band's tour also is goosing sales.

Van Morrison's latest, "Back On Top" on Virgin Records, fell short of its wishful title and bowed at No. 28 on sales of just over 43,000 copies.